1 Introduction
by when.it.rains91
Summary: 100 Themes revolving around Naruto characters
1. 1 Introduction

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If it were mine, Sasuke would not be such an angsty character. Well, no. That's not true. He makes angst work.

So I figured I would try my hand at this theme writing. I found a list of 100 themes, (actually, I found like 10 of the same list so I'm not sure who to give credit to) on the internet and I started writing. Here's theme 1! : )

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1. Introduction

It was the first day of her training. The girl excitedly rolled out of her bed, a full hour earlier than she was supposed to be getting up, and put on the outfit that she had been up forever picking out; a pretty red dress and a pair of shorts underneath. She quickly brushed out her hair, working through the tangles that had gathered in the night, and glanced at herself in the mirror. Pink hair was tucked behind her ear to keep it out of the way. Bright, animated green eyes look back from the glass and she gave a bright smile, complete with a missing tooth, the top right canine. She giggled nervously as she remembered how scary it had been to pull that tooth; she had waited until it had been hanging off by just about nothing, and when her daddy had asked to see it and it had simply fallen off into his hand. She could already feel the other canine getting loose. She gently tugged on the loose tooth in question, feeling a wave of satisfaction when she tastes the blood flowing like rust and salt in her mouth. She promised right then that as soon as it was loose enough, the tooth would come out. She would be brave this time around. She gave herself a nod in the mirror and ran out of her room to wake her mother and father.

Breakfast was a hurried affair, and soon enough, with lunch in hand and hasty kisses to her mother, she was running out the door dragging her daddy along behind her. She skipped all the way to the academy that day, chattering non-stop about all the things that she was going to do when she made friends. She had seen the other children around town playing together but she had kept to herself, her shyness keeping her from making any lasting bonds with the others. Her promise to herself was fresh in mind; she had decided that today would be the day to start anew.

Their house was not far from the academy, and before long, they arrived at the gate. Never before had the looming building seemed as imposing as it did now, and the little girl's voice getting quieter and quieter as they approached it. Her father, noticing the change in her attitude, gave her hand a small reassuring squeeze and smiled gently at her when she looked up at him with a frightened expression. She gave him back a tentative smile, and walked with him through the entrance where the other children were playing in the courtyard and their parents stood speaking together. She pulled him gently to an empty corner and stood there with him, trembling slightly. Her father kneeled down to look her in the eye.

"Love, there's nothing to be afraid of. I know you're nervous but you are a wonderful little girl and I'm sure everyone would love to be your friend. Would you like to go talk to the other children?"

The little girl threw her small arms around his neck. "Daddy, what if they don't like me?" She whispered horrified.

He patted her hair comfortingly and tells her "It's okay" and "I'm sure they'll love you". She slowly drew away from him, smiled another half-hearted smile, and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Okay! I'm going now!" she said firmly and turned away from him towards the other children. He smiled, albeit a little sadly, at his little girl as she walked away from him. He wished he could've kept her forever, that she would've stayed that little, that innocent forever.

Her small hands were curled apprehensively in front of her chest, tongue whipped out to wet her lips nervously. When she finally reached the other girls standing together at the other side of the yard, she approached the nearest one,

" 'Scuse me."

The girl in question turned around and looked at her questioningly. "Yeah?" She replied in a lilting voice.

"Can..CanIplaywithyouplease?" she replied really fast, dropping her eyes to the ground in front of her and blushing furiously.

"Huh? What did you say?" the other girl responded, her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised high above the other. "You're weird."

"O-oh.. Sorry..." she mumbled back, fighting back the tears as she turned away from the girl and walked quickly back to her daddy. The giggles of the other girls rang loudly in her ears as she left their proximity and her stomach churned at the sound.

"What happened?" he questioned when she reached him again, wrapping her slender limbs around his torso and burying her face in his shirt.

"Nothing." She replied in a muffled voice, clenching his shirt tightly. _They think I'm weird. I'm weird, I'm weird, I'm weird. They don't like me._

Soon after, they were called to attention while one of the teachers explained the rules of the academy and congratulated them on becoming new students. The girl stood quietly by her father's side as she listened, having exchanged her hold on his body for just his hand. He glanced down at her again and again but was at a loss at what to say. He pulled a handful of candies out of his pocket, a treat he'd been planning to give her later, and dumped the colourful treats into her little hand. He was really no good at this.

The teacher had finished speaking and everyone had left the courtyard to return to their respective homes. She and her father had stood together, eating candies and watching while many of the children had said goodbye to their parents and run off to play. One exception was a boy with bandages covering his face and hands, who had walked quietly next to an imposing man they'd assumed was his father. He had dark hair and kept his hands in the pockets of his baggy pants while walking quickly to keep up with the long strides of the stoic man next to him. Occasionally, the boy glanced up surreptitiously to look at his father's face with a hopeful, hungry sort of glint in his eyes.

"Do you want to go yet, love?" her daddy said to her quietly. She tightened her hold on his hand and they turned to walk towards the exit of the yard, passing another little boy who was playing by himself in the dirt. His knees and elbows were covered in scratches and bruises both old and new, and his arm had an angry red welt around it that looked like a hand print. His blonde coloured hair looked like it hadn't been cut in a while and he wore dirty clothes. The girl felt her chest tighten painfully, and then an idea came over her. She stopped and looked up at her daddy, who in turn looked at her questioningly, and let go of his hand to walk over to the boy.

"S...S'cuse me." she said when she had approached him. The boy looked up at her and his eyes flashed first with surprise, then confusion, his expression slowly turning into a frown, as if the very sight of her was doubtful. He said nothing.

"D-do you want a candy?" she asked him quietly. His blue eyes widened at the colourful treats she held out in her little hand in front of him.

"M-me? Really?" he had whispered back just as quietly, in awe. When she nodded shyly, he cupped his hands under hers and she dumped the rest of her treats into them. He had grinned at her so widely, that she had had to smile back. "Thanks!" Popping one of the goodies into his mouth he smiled again and said, "I'm Naruto! What's your name?"

"S-Sakura!" she had stuttered back, smiling even wider and tucking her pink hair behind her ears again.


	2. 5 Seeking Solace

I seem to have found myself in a rut of writing only Sakura based stories. -_-

Meh.

I own nothing. : (

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5. Seeking Solace

Sakura lies awake staring at her ceiling. It's 9 o'clock but she's already in bed, because she ran out of things to do. She really hates these nights, when there is no mission to take and no more patients to treat. The nights when she is left by herself in an empty apartment to listen to the echo of nothing around her. She used to hate being alone, but it has become a way of life for her.

These days, she wakes to the alarm clock at 6 in the morning, cooks herself breakfast and lets herself out, saying goodbye to her vacant house. At work, she keeps herself so busy that she doesn't even have time for lunch, seeing patient after patient until Tsunade or exhaustion sends her home. By the time she leaves the hospital the darkened streets are deserted and the supermarket is fairly empty. She buys her groceries and heads home. Sakura lets herself back in, saying hello to no one, eats dinner, showers and goes to bed.

Eat. Work. Sleep. Repeat.

Her life is dull, there's no denying that, but she has become stronger and stronger. On the occasional team 7 missions she goes on with Naruto, Sai and Kakashi, it's blaringly obvious that she can stand her own with them. In fact, more than once, she has saved their lives.

She still feels nothing though. In fact, she feels about as empty as her apartment; furnished only with the bare essentials.

Sasuke is gone.

He is gone and he isn't coming back.

It hadn't even occurred to her that he might not want them around, not until after Kakashi had brought Naruto back nearly dead. She'd realized then that they were holding him back, stopping him from achieving his true potential, and he would kill them if they got in his way. They were nothing but a burden to him now. _Annoying,_ inner-Sakura supplies. _I think that's the word you're looking for_.

"Thank you." she replies sarcastically, wiping away the tears from her eyes as she remembers the last time she spoke to Sasuke, a full 10 years past. She had offered him everything, she had even asked to go with him, and he had just left her on a bench with nothing to show for it except one hell of a bruise and a bad cold from sleeping outside.

_Stupid Sakura._ She chides herself internally, sobbing quietly all the while. _He never liked you. You knew that. _

With a grunt of annoyance, she pushes herself up from her mattress and sits on the edge, hissing as her feet touch the cold floor.

"Enough! Enough, enough, enough!" she snaps to no one, getting up to go to the bathroom. The girl rubs furiously at her wet cheeks as she opens the door and steps in; the tiled floor here is even colder than the carpet in her room. She lets out another shout of frustration, and for a moment she is very tempted to just sit down and cry. Steeling herself, she turns around and leaves the way she came in making her way to the thermostat by the door and turning up the heat a few degrees. Sakura pinches her cheeks as she listens for the groan that signifies that the heater is turning on. At this point, she stomps her way back to the bathroom and looks at the fuming woman in the reflection. One glance tells her that just washing her face will be useless; her usually pale and flawless skin is blotchy and her eyes are puffy and rimmed in red. Streaks of tears cover her strong cheekbones, the pink hair is mussed and tucked messily behind her ears, and just for laughs, her nose is dripping.

Sakura is ANGRY and her anger has been known to create serious problems within the village, destruction of private property being one of the most common results.

She brushes her long pink hair and braids its' length, letting it hang down to the middle of her pyjama clad back. Turning on the tap, she quickly washes away the remains of her tears. The girl dries off her face and throws the towel onto the tiled floor, making her way out to the front room and standing by the open window.

She breathes in the night air. The smell of rain is present, a thick cover of clouds is in the sky intent on blotting out the stars. The vendors have packed their wares and the street below is quiet, only a few people still out and about, making their way home.

Suddenly, her house is too suffocating, too enclosed. Sakura feels the need to be outdoors, to feel the cold air against her skin and the wind in her hair. She steps up onto the sill of her window, and feels her toes curl in apprehension along the ledge. Channelling chakra into her legs, she runs quickly along the rooftops. Her feet take to the only other person she feels comfortable with, the only other person who truly understands the loss she feels. She arrives on Naruto's windowsill and knocks lightly on the glass. A blonde head sticks into the bedroom wearing an expression of curiosity, eyes lighting up when he recognizes the mysterious visitor.

"Sakura-chan!" He jumps over to the window and pulls it open and out of the way, helping her into the house. "What's wrong?" He asks, noting her lack of shoes, dishevelled appearance and body temperature. "You're freezing! Come inside! I'll make you some ramen!" The blonde dodges into his closet and pulls out a sweater (hideously orange, of course) and throws it to her.

"Thanks." Sakura chatters back gratefully, pulling the jumper over head and smiling at his predictable response to her appearance. Inner-Sakura snorts. _Ramen? Really? Is that ALL he thinks about?_

"Oh shush." The dominant personality murmurs back, inhaling Naruto's smell; sweet, like sugar or honey, a lot like him really. She follows the boy our of the bedroom and into the main room noting the shabby state of his apartment, from the need for a paint job to a fist sized hole in the wall between his bedroom and living room. Noticing Sakura's scrutiny, he scratches the back of his blonde head and smiles at her nervously. "I was having a bad day... Anyways. Miso okay?" He busies himself in the kitchen, his back to her so she settles herself in one of the chairs at his table, her knees drawn into her chest and listens to his chatter. When he's done with the noodles, he fills two bowls and brings them over to the table, placing one in front of her.

Sakura lets out a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, and pulling the overly long sleeves up her forearms she reaches out for the pair of chopsticks in the steaming bowl. The broth is warm and filling and the noodles taste better than anything else she has had to eat. Suddenly, she realizes that Naruto has stopped talking and is looking at her oddly. "What?" she asks enquiringly. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She sees the hesitation in his eyes as he reaches over and brushes a finger under her eye, pulling away to show her the wetness. Not comprehending, she reaches up a hand to touch her own cheek, only to realize with horror that she's crying. "Oh!" She promptly drops her chopsticks and begins to rub away the tears for the second time that evening. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me tonight. I just can't stop crying. I'm so sorry." She blathers out to Naruto, who sits and watches her curiously. Under his eye, she feels unveiled, and the feeling of comfort that had settled over dissipates to be replaced by uneasiness. Sakura's emotions begin to get the better of her and as she feels her control slipping away, she decides escape is the best option. "I think I'll go home. I'm sorry again. Thank you for the ramen." Her chair clatters and scrapes against the floor as she pushes it away from the table and the half-eaten bowl of noodles. She doesn't look her friend in the eye, opting instead to focus on the floor as she walks away from his kitchen and back to the dark bedroom to the open window. Her hand is on the sill again, and she is preparing to jump up when he grabs her arm from behind.

"Sakura-chan! Wait! Please wait!" he speaks with an urgency that is very different from his usual tone of voice. She turns slowly to look at him, bloodshot green eyes meeting panicked blue ones. "What's wrong? Tell me! Please?" His tone pleads with her, piercing her heart and she remembers belatedly that she is wearing nothing but a small pair of shorts and an old t-shirt underneath the baggy orange sweater she's borrowed. Once again, she's overwhelmed by the desire to cry.

When Naruto realizes that Sakura isn't going to run away, the tension fades from his pose and he pulls her towards him, enveloping her into a very warm hug. He doesn't anticipate her hugging him back as if her life depends on it, as if letting him go would mean the end of the world as she knows it. He shifts uncomfortably but doesn't pull away, sensing her inner turmoil. The blonde speculates silently on what is expected of him in this kind of situation, feeling a little helpless, and wonders fleetingly if this is 'one of those girl things' that he's heard Shikamaru mention. The boy is shocked back into reality when he feels Sakura's deceptively small and frail form shaking in his embrace, sobs wracking her body.

_Is she crying? _The last time he saw her cry was when she had asked him to bring Sasuke back.

_**So it seems.**_ The demon inside him had replied.

_What do I do?_ Sheer panic rushes through him.

_**Stupid human. **_The irritation in the kyuubi's voice is easily recognizable.

_Kyuubi? Oi! Useless freeloader! _The panic takes hold again, washing over him in waves. He is even more bewildered when Sakura simply gives up trying to hold herself up, falling limp in his arms. He manoeuvres them down onto the floor, holding her body with as much force as she is clinging to his. "Shhh... It's okay. I'm here." He whispers to her.

"Pl-please... Please, please, ple-please... Naruto I c-can't do it anymore." The girl cries into his shoulder, her fingers digging painfully into his back. Her hysteric sobs fill the otherwise quiet air around them while the cold night air blows gently through the open window at her back.

Naruto doesn't know how long they sit there together; the boy rocking the broken girl in his arms, comforting her broken heart with his clumsy words. The sky outside the window darkens further and the sound of dogs barking can be heard in the distance. The booming music of a bar a few streets over echoes in the night air too. Eventually, Sakura stops crying and lies still cradled in his arms, her forehead tucked against his neck, almost unnoticeable tears running down her cheeks onto the already ruined shirt he wears. The boy leans against the bed, resting his cheek on the top of her pink head, still patting her back gently.

Sakura thinks of the heart beating against her ear, the warmth she feels under her fingertips, the sensation of being held so tenderly. She's tired of being alone, she decides. Naruto's arms fall away from her back as she sits up slowly to look into his sea-blue eyes, leaning forward to inhale the intoxicating smell of him. Her hands slide up the sides of his torso to frame either side of his face as she presses her lips against his, closing her eyes. Surprise ripples through him and his hands rise up to her shoulders to roughly pull her away. Her eyes still closed, she turns her face to the ground.

"Sakura! What are you doing? What about Sasu-"

"Don't! Don't say that name! Please just don't.. Please, just let's pretend... let's pretend he didn't exist. Just hold me. Kiss me. Make me forget him." She looks into his eyes pleadingly and repeats herself. "Make me forget him. Or don't you like me anymore, Naruto?"

Naruto's heart breaks a little as he watches the girl he's always loved, chaos raging within him. "It's not like that! You know it isn't! I've always loved you! Silly girl! I just don't want to hurt you!" _I don't want to be hurt by you._

"You won't." Sakura replies softly. "I choose you. I want to be with you... so please Naruto. Kiss me?" She leans forward again until their breath is intermingled and their noses are almost touching. "Please." She breathes.

Then her lips are on his again, and he feels like fire. Naruto is still gentle, still hesitant in the back of his mind though he hasn't pushed her away yet, so the girl mashes herself against him, closing the little distance between their bodies. She takes his hand from her face and places it on her naked thigh, feeling his breath hitch as he pulls away again. He tries one last time to change her mind, "Sakura... Are you sure about this?" His honest eyes peer into hers and she feels a stab of guilt deep in her stomach. "I won't.. I won't hold it against you if you want to take that back."

Sakura sees his worry and his indecision, and she loves him a little bit more for it. She feels another pang of remorse at the pain she knows she's caused, the pain she knows she **is** causing him, and her heart breaks a little more.

_If it hadn't been for Sasuke,_ she thinks, _you would've been my first love. _The girl smiles up at him and puts her hand on his cheek. "I think I love you too. It just took a while to see it." She whispers gently, truth behind every word that leaves her mouth. His eyes soften and the corners of his lips turn up a little too and he kisses her lightly, chastely, with all the love he has felt for the girl since their early years together.

"That should've been our first kiss." He whispers in her ear, his breath tickling her sensitive neck. The boy slips his strong arms under her knees and back, lifting her slowly from the ground. Naruto's unwavering gaze never once leaves her emerald eyes as he turns to face his bed, kicking back the covers. He lowers her down unhurriedly to the top of the firm mattress, carefully sinking down to lay beside her on the small bed.

Naruto raises his hand to brush back the strands of pink hair that have escaped from their braid, tucking them lovingly behind her ear. His fingertips fall to her cheekbones while his thumb traces her swollen lips. Her arms come around his waist, pulling him closer to her, snuggling into his toned chest and breathing in his scent. Her eyes fall shut and her breathing evens, though the arms she wrapped around him are as tight as ever, whispering of the subconscious fear she has of being left alone again. He kisses the top of her pink head gently and tightens his own arms around her small form before closing his own eyes and allowing sleep to overcome his tired body too. She is with him and that is all he knows.

The two lie there together clinging to the other, each relaxing in the warm embrace, each seeking solace in the other's arms.


	3. 70 67 Percent

So here is topic 70. 67%.

I totally thought I had more stories to upload but I guess I overestimated myself. -_- again...

Anyways. It's a bit of a crack fic and it's kinda dorky. But meh.

Reviews = a happy me. : )

*****START FLASHBACK*****

_His hair. It's so..._

_**Black? **_Inner Sakura had supplied.

She'd sighed dreamily, her hand under her chin. _Yeah... and his skin... it's soo..._

_**White?**_The ever helpful alternate personality had offered.

_Yeah. _Another dreamy sigh and the test under her elbows was forgotten. The boy in question had been focused on his own test, scribbling away on the sheet of paper in front of him. He'd glanced up at the clock by the teacher's desk then returned his gaze to his exam again.

_Did you see? Did you see it?_ Sakura had remarked excitedly.

_**See what?**_

_His hair! It was in his eyes and he blew it out of the way! _She'd squirmed and made 'kyaa' noises (internally of course) while inner Sakura had simply rolled her eyes and blown her own hair out of the way.

_**So?**_

_It was adorable! _

_**Ugh. You have to write a test you know. **_

_Huh? Test? _Sakura's eyes had widened and she'd begun cursing with an intensity that would make a sailor blush (internally again of course). She'd jumped to attention and started scribbling so furiously that the ink from her pen had splattered her nose and cheeks, covering her face in small black freckles.

"All right everyone! Time's up! Put your pens and pencils down, pass up your papers!" Iruka had said to a chorus of groans and stretching.

Sakura's eyes had only widened even more and her pen had sped up in its race against time.

"Sakura! Down! Drop the pen!" the teacher had practically shouted.

Pleading puppy eyes had looked towards him while her pen continued its mad scramble across the test sheet. "But -"

"Do NOT make me come up there! You drop that pen." Iruka had interrupted in a menacing tone of voice, his eyebrow raised so high it was almost lost in his hair. _Damn. _She'd seen that look before. Sakura had swallowed hard in apprehension, her writing hand slowing down and coming to a pointed stop at the end of the sentence. With shaking hands she had taken her paper and passed it to the girl in front of her. Iruka had nodded in approval and moved on to chewing out Shikamaru for sleeping through the test, but not before giving her a hard look.

*****END FLASHBACK******

And that's how it had happened.

_I can't believe I did that. _She groans. _How on Earth can __I__ have gotten a 67? What the heck is wrong with me?_

_**There are many things wrong with you but I'll assume that it's a rhetorical question. **_

"Shut up!" Sakura yells back, forgetting for a moment that she isn't in the comfort of her own home where she can address her delusions out loud without worrying that the people around her will think she's crazy. The sudden silence around her reminds her that there are, in fact, other people around her. She slowly lifts her head from the table top and looks up to see the curious eyes of her classmates on her. Many of them have stopped talking mid-sentence and forgotten to close their mouths.

She chuckles awkwardly and mutters a quick "Sorry", before packing her own things into her bag and sprinting out of the classroom.

_**Nice. Very smooth. **_Inner Sakura's face is twitching from the effort it takes to stop her from laughing.

_I thought I told you to shut up! _The real Sakura's eyebrows are twitching in the effort it takes to stop herself from freaking out at herself in the middle of the staircase.

_**Since when has that ever worked?**_

Sakura grunts in frustration and makes her way to the first floor and out of the main doors._** Really. A 67? **_

_OH JUST SHUT UP. _

Scoff. _**You should be more serious about your studies. Without me you would be SO lost. **_A hair flip.

Real Sakura's fists are balled and the muscles in her arms are tense. Her pace is quick and on edge as she makes her way through the town, following the familiar route that leads her to her house. Sometimes she really hates her alternate personality.


	4. 30 Under the Rain

Here we go again with Sakura. : )

My review jar thanks you for your contributions. : D

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30. Under the Rain

The nurse who enters the hospital room every three hour interval to give **that** patient her medicine is exactly 6 minutes late. She'd been busy at the counter filling out forms when she'd realized the medicine was late. A cold sweat had broken out across her skin and with a bad taste in her mouth she had made her way to the room at the end of the hall. Her suspicions had been proven correct when upon opening the door, she'd seen nothing but an empty room. All the windows had been thrown open making the curtains wave slowly, gently, ominously in the cold breeze. The bars are cut leaving a hole just large enough for a thin person to get out of. Restraints have been left in a pile at the base of the bed.

Swearing the nurse runs out of the room again calling to attention all the doctors and the other nurses.

"She's gone! She's gone again!"

All the doctors fall into a panic and begin a thorough search of the hospital grounds, though they know that she is long gone by now. The nurse leaves her ward, gesturing to the security guard to open the door and let her through to the other side. She runs to the nearest phone, the one at the help desk and dials the number that she knows by heart.

Ring.

Ring.

"Hello?"

"This is the psych ward. She's gone again!" the nurse rapidly tells the boy on the other line.

He groans and quickly requests the details of the escape. Hanging up he makes his way across an empty apartment to change into less conspicuous clothes than his usual orange. He also grabs a set of warm clothes for the girl he knows will be found soon. Stuffing all this into a backpack he runs to the door and puts on a pair of shoes.

In the street below, he pauses for a moment to look up at the sky. Angry grey clouds have formed above his village, a sure-fire indicator of rain to come within the hour. A freezing wind blows through the unusually empty streets, filling him with worry for the girl he's chasing after. He knows that she's not dressed for the cold weather. Sighing, he makes his way towards the hospital, hoping to pick up her trail on his way.

Upon his arrival, he is greeted by a familiar sight; a small pug dog in a vest and hitai-ate sitting next to a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes as icy as his own.

"We were just about to get going when Pak-kun said he sensed you close by." The girl says to him in an explanatory tone of voice.

"Kakashi?" the boy asks looking towards the dog, who replies with a shake of his furry head.

"Let's go then." He replies. "It's getting cold. I'm worried about her."

The three set off, the boy and the girl falling in line behind the dog, in the direction of the forest at the edge of the village. They move as one, getting slowly but surely further away from their home, moving deeper into the jungle.

"We're getting closer." The dog announces and as if on cue, the three ninja pick up speed. A menacing crack of thunder sounds above them and raindrops start to fall on their heads.

Muttering obscenities under his breath the boy searches the forest with his eyes. "Pak-kun, can you still smell her?" he asks.

"A little bit. Her scent is very fresh so it's still there, but if it starts to rain any harder, we will lose it. You had best hope it doesn't."

They keep moving, flying over the tree branches and through the canopy, leaving nothing in their wake to suggest that they had ever been there. The boy's eyes dart around them, aching to see through the incessant rain and the never-ending trees that surround them.

There!

"Did you see that?" He asks the girl who runs beside him anxiously.

"See what?" She glances his way sharply, then returns her gaze to the path ahead. He points in the same direction, the place where he'd seen the flash of color – pink – color.

The lightening above them flashes brilliantly illuminating the whole forest in eerie light for a split second only to disappear as quickly as it came and the deafening noise of thunder that follows it seems to shake everything around them, sending another stab of anxiety through the boy. The rain falls down in sheets around the team, obscuring everything from view and making it harder than ever to find their target.

"Naruto! There she is!"

The young man switches from his already quick two legged running into a more animalistic sprint using his hands and feet to propel himself forward at an impossibly fast rate and soon thereafter leaves the girl and dog behind. His heightened senses allow him to feel her presence ahead of him.

He hears her heart pumping blood through her body and feels the pulsating chakra rushing through her system. Her once toned and strong body has fallen out of shape and her breath comes in gasping pants.

"Sakura! Please stop!" The boy yells as soon as he is close enough to see the white and generic hospital gown she wears is soaked through and her feet, she wears no shoes, slipping and sliding across the moss covered surfaces of the trees. Cotton candy colored hair whips loose in the wind behind her like a trailing cape and the boy remembers that many years ago, he had complimented that hair and she had giggled. It had been so long ago though, so long that it almost felt like a different life entirely, like they'd been different people entirely. But this, this game of cat and mouse they were playing now was a game that they had played for years, ever since the end of the war.

His reminiscing is cut short when he is rejoined by the rest of his team. "Ino, she's heading to the clearing. She... she won't listen." He is glad for the rain suddenly, glad that no one can see the tears in his eyes.

Ino looks at him, her own eyes filled with sorrow for her friends, and says "It's alright. We'll meet her there. She has to come back to us eventually, right?"

With a quick nod and an imperceptible brushing away of the tears, the boy looks forward again. Examining his surroundings, he realizes that they are further away from the village than he expected, much closer to the clearing than he expected. Sure enough, he can see that a short way ahead there is a small area where the trees are scarce. Picking up speed, the boy leaves his team behind once more, flying through the brush without a trace. When his target passes the threshold into the clearing, he is a hair behind her.

"Sakura." He whispers and grabs her waist to stop her from moving away. Both their bodies come to a stop in the center of the clearing. "Please stop. Let's just go home?" I wish you would come back to me. I wish you would realize how much we need you, how much we're hurting too.

The girl turns around so quickly that her long hair whips him in the face. "There IS no home without him! I have to go and get him back! I have to bring him home! He needs to come home!" She starts pounding at his chest with her small hands, looking to all the world like a toddler throwing a tantrum. "Let me go!" She spits at him.

"Sakura! Look at me!" He grabs her wrists with one hand, encircling thin wrists, too thin wrists, with his long fingers. His other hand reaches her for her face and roughly thrusts up her chin bringing her face into view. Green eyes shine out from a thin pale face overrun by raindrops and tears. Cheekbones jut out from underneath her skin, like someone who hasn't been fed properly in many months. Her pasty pallor is in startling contrast to the dark lips that tremble from the cold.

His own eyes flash furiously. "He is dead, Sakura. He is dead and there is nothing you can do." He says carefully, enunciating painfully clearly. Drops of water make their way through the cropped hair flattened over his head and streak down the length of his face.

The girl looks desperately from one eye to the other, searching for any sign that the boy is lying, any sign of a guilty conscience. Ino and Pak-kun emerge from the trees at a slow walk to join them.

"You know that Sasuke is dead Sakura. You have to let him go." Abruptly he pulls her closer and drops his forehead to her shoulder. "Please. I.. I can't lose you too." He gasps, trying to hold back the sobs that threaten to escape. Abruptly he is reminded of the first time that Sasuke had tried to leave, the first time they had really fought. "I couldn't save him. That day.. That day we fought and I lost. He left me. Please... Don't you leave me too." His fingers tighten around her wrists painfully.

"Enough is enough Sakura. You gotta give up on him. We need you back." Ino says quietly to the girl.

"But..."

"No. Sasuke is dead. You tried, Naruto tried, everyone fucking tried to save him. We tried over and over but he wouldn't come back to us. He died. The last of the Uchiha is dead and gone. Nothing we do or say can bring him back." As she speaks, the intent eyes of the pink haired girls turn bleak. She pushes away the boy who still holds her close and turns away from her friends. Standing in the center of the clearing she looks up at the night sky and watches as the droplets of water make their journey to the earth.

At last, the target speaks again, brushing away pink strands from her face.

"Okay."


	5. 36 Precious Treasure

Sorry for this ridiculously overdue update. :/ No excuse really, just life tried to run me over. I don't know why. Anyways, R&R please! :)

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**36. Precious Treasure**

It had been a joke between you that your child might come out with red hair. The two of you had laughed and wondered – "Mother had the most beautiful red hair, don't you remember?" – but the baby had pulled a number on both of you.

You remember the first time you held that little girl in your calloused hands and whispered a broken hello in her tiny, perfect ears. She'd squirmed and wiggled in her sleep in response, showing no other signs of awareness. You had almost laughed aloud when you had seen her hair - "Pink!" you had turned to tell your wife, brimming over with a giddy sort of happiness. Then you noticed that your wife, the mother of your beautiful pink haired little girl was as unconscious and unresponsive as the dead. The hospital staff had scrambled into action, - "An unforeseen complication... There's no way we could have known... So sorry for your loss..." – but it had been too late.

You took home your little girl all by yourself. Your friends had been at a loss as to whether they should celebrate your daughter's birth or offer their condolences for your wife's death. They compromise by making you food and hiring a woman to clean your house once a week. The going is tough but you work through each day as it comes, learning more than you thought possible about the human body and growing children.

And the little girl grows like a weed. You watch her with worried eyes as she takes her first steps, smiles for the first time and loses her first tooth (the last one will be your favourite 'embarrassing story' in front of friends when she grows up.)

You are unhappy when she comes home crying one day, reluctantly telling you of the bullies at school who pick on her – "... and they said that I h-have a big f-forehead." She says between her great heaving sobs. You took her out for ice cream that day just to cheer her up and she got a stomach ache after eating a whole triple-scoop cone by herself.

She finally makes friends – "Ino-chan gave me a ribbon today", "Ino-chan picked flowers with me today" "..and then Ino-chan said.." – and gets a little stronger. She's no longer a little shadow on the wall of her school. She is a 'big girl' who can 'take care of herself'. You remember smiling proudly when she brings home a report card full of A's – "That's my smart little girl."

* * *

Soon after, she has a fire in her eyes.

"Daddy, I want to be a ninja." She'd announced one night at the table over macaroni and cheese. You'd looked up at her startled, panicking on the inside _whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo_.

"...A ninja..?" You make it sound like a question rather than an incredulous comment.

"A ninja." She repeats unruffled. "I want to be a ninja."

"Sakura..Honey," _whatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo _"Being a ninja is a very dangerous job. Ninja's get hurt often and they lead very difficult lives. Are you sure that's what you want?" _whatdoIdo? What if she leaves me what if she dies what if she's hurt what do I do?_

In that silence, as many worries flow through your mind as grains of sand do in an hourglass.

"I.. I think so. I want to be stronger." She says hesitantly, peering at you through bright and solemn green eyes. "I don't wanna be afraid anymore Daddy." She whispers quietly.

At the thought of losing her, tears prickle at your eyes. You clear your throat and look away from her sombre gaze and examine the cold noodles on your plate. You don't feel hungry anymore.

"Al..Alright. If that's what you want my love." You reply just as quietly, looking back at her. She's too much like you this little girl, preferring to stay home with you then go out with her friends. In some ways, you and she are **best **friends, the type that know all each other's secrets and all each other's worries. You wonder sometimes if she grew up too quick for her age to make up for the loss of her mother. You wonder if all the other children are as mature as your little girl. "If that's what you want my love." You repeat and you have to look away again from the brightening of her little face. _She's too young for this! _your subconscious is screaming.

The next morning you take her to the academy (the place where they teach you to kill the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible.)

* * *

She starts attending the ninja school that fall, coming home every day with new books to read and new stories to tell about her classmates and teachers. Oftentimes you hear about another child – "Sasuke-kun is so quiet, but he's really nice and really smart." She tells you blushing. You wonder if your poor heart can handle (can you say it?) a crush..

The spark in her eyes is brighter than ever though and you wouldn't change that for the world. She works incessantly to stay at the top of the class – "Second place! Right behind Sasuke-kun!" and her teachers have nothing but good things to tell of her.

She comes to one night, crawls into your bed like she used to and holds your hand in her own small ones. "Tomorrow is my genin test, Daddy. I don't know if I can do it. I'm really nervous." She confesses to you in such a small voice that you have to strain to hear her even in the quiet of the house.

"You'll be fine my love." You say to her and pull her close. You wait until her breathing evens out before slipping outside to sit on the front step of the house. You stay there all night, contemplating the decisions you have made and wondering if this is really the right path for her. _What if she leaves me?_

She aces her test and has her own genin team. "Sasuke-kun," dratted 'Sasuke-kun' again. He'd like to teach this little punk a lesson or two about life._ You probably couldn't if you wanted to, old man. He's a ninja, remember? "_ Naruto-baka and Kakashi-sensei." She lists off in an excited voice, nearly dancing with excitement.

You smile wryly and congratulate her when inside you're dying to tell her to give up on this ninja nonsense. Give up on it and be a child again.

And then the light starts to flicker. The sparkle in her eye, the childish innocence disappears after she returns from her first mission with her team. She puts on a brave face for 'her boys' as she calls them, but you know her better than anyone else.

The first time she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, you run into her room and hold her close like you used to. She tells you the sad story of a boy named Haku and his mentor, both of whom died in a fight that wasn't theirs. _So much blood and loss and sadness. So much death,_ you think to yourself miserably.

And she's not your little girl anymore.

* * *

She's growing even faster than before now, racing through team exercises and staying out late to train with her team. "Kakashi-sensei nominated us for the Chuunin exam, you know. It's not every day that a genin team fresh out of the academy gets to take part in the test, so we have to work hard for him." She tells you proudly (albeit a little nervously. You can tell by the way her eyebrows come together and she squinches up her nose.)

On the day of the first exam, you pace between your kitchen and your living room so many times that you think the floor may wear away beneath you. At the market yesterday, you overheard some ninja talking about the deaths from the previous exams and the competition from the other countries. _Why did I let her do this again? What if she dies or gets hurt or loses or, Heavens above! What if she passes? What if she wants to leave? _Over and over the thoughts pass through your mind and you decide it's best to leave the house. Kakashi has already warned you that Sakura won't be returning home this evening, so you meet your friends at the unusually empty bar and drink away your nervousness, drink until the blissful oblivion engulfs you and you pass out on the table.

All you remember of the next few days is the worst hangover of your life. You remember that Sakura came back, three or so days later, looking like she'd been beaten within an inch of her life. Her hair is cut short now and she stands tall and proud, looking you straight in the eye when she speaks. She mentions difficulties they'd encountered during the exam and something about a snake man and Sasuke-kun having a fight. "I'm so worried about him. There was a mark on his neck. I went to the hospital, but they wouldn't let me see him."

You miss the pigtails and the Eskimo kisses that she used to give you when she was little.

But she's not your little girl anymore.

* * *

The final exam day comes and you're glad because she won't be moping around the house any more. With Sasuke, Kakashi and Naruto gone a-training, she has nothing left to do. You're glad to hear that she has rekindled her friendship with that Ino girl though, too many boys have turned her rough.

The final exam day comes and you're not glad anymore. The final exam day comes and all hell breaks loose. You're left wandering the streets in a daze after a giant snake bursts through your living room wall. Not for the last time, you wonder if it had been a good decision to let Sakura be a ninja.

Time flows quicker than ever and before you know it, she's a woman.

One morning she comes home, (you hadn't even noticed she was gone) with a look on her face like her favourite puppy had just died. "Ano..Sasuke... Sasuke-kun left." She says to you haltingly, her eyes searching yours for the answer to all life's woes. "Naruto and the other boys nearly died to bring him back... What do I do now? What do I do now daddy?" She asks in a dazed kind of way.

You're at a loss. You know that nothing can save her from the hell of waiting now. Every time that the doorbell rings, she will wonder if it's him. Every time that the mail arrives, she will paw through the letters first to see if he has written her. Every black haired boy that she passes in the street will be him for just a second.

She will always be waiting for him.

And you will never forgive him for hurting your precious treasure.


	6. 53 Keeping a Secret

I (kind of) have an excuse for the lateness of this chapter! I have been trying for a loooooooong while to post it but ff has been stupid. It's fixed now though! :D

As always, I own nothing. Please R&R

This is Ino's POV by the way.

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53. Keeping a Secret

Wanna know a secret? Promise not to tell?

I hate Sasuke. (Almost) always have and (probably) always will.

I hate his stupid chicken-butt hair and sickly pale skin. I hate his stupid twiggy elbows and his old man knees. I hate the way he scrunches his nose whenever he doesn't want to talk to you. I hate that he just looks straight past you when he doesn't want to acknowledge your existence. I hate his attitude problem (his 'holier-than-thou' personality is so cliché and way old news). I hate that he thinks he's better than everyone else. I hate that he **is** better than everyone else. I hate his stupid Sharingan _(who the heck needs a Sharingan anyways?_). I hate his stupid fire-jutsu _(they are WAY overrated. And predictable. And showy. Just saying.) _

I hate that he broke your heart and left. I hate that he hurt you _(and Naruto too, I suppose)_. I hate that you feel like you won't ever be whole without him _(you're much better than he ever was and you deserve much better than that nut.)_

I pretended, you know? I'm surprised that you didn't see through the act _(you who knew me best of all)_. He lost all appeal to me when you told me that you liked him. The only reason I chose to keep going, to pretend that I still did like him was to keep you near me, to protect you from his vicious tongue. I didn't want to lose your friendship _(to lose you)_ but he changed everything between us.

The only way I could keep you near me, the only way you would still look at me _(I couldn't live without you, stupid.)_ was to keep on pretending. So I did.

I may seem strong, tall, proud, unbending, wilful, confidant.. but without you I am nothing.

You always thought that I was the center piece and you were the accent, but you had it backwards. You were always the most beautiful blossom in the bouquet. We, the Rookie 9, the Konoha 12, all of those people out on the street, anyone who has ever met you, **we** are the accents.

You were always the best of us.

Shh. It will be our secret.


	7. 15 Silence

Thanks to Waymirec for always sending me amazing reviews! You make my day. :)

Hope I don't disappoint!

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15. Silence

What strikes him most after the... after... is the silence.

Sometimes, in the first few years, he liked to imagine that nothing had changed at all. He would pretend for hours, days even, that his parents were simply away for a few days, that his _nii-san_ was gone on a mission and he was holding down the fort for the time being. But sooner or later, he would forget. He would walk out into the compound and notice the silence or walk into the dojo and see the stains and chalk outlines on the floor.

The depression would strike again and he would sink into the bottomless pit of despair and disappointment.

That was before his graduation though, before Team 7 and everything it came to mean to him.

His first impression had been disgust with the three of them. Sakura was just another dumb fan girl who always followed him around. The dobe was, well, a dobe. His antics were ridiculous and he was always going on about this ninja code or that ninja promise. And Kakashi? He was eternally late. One thing that he has always prided himself on is his punctuality.

Over time though, the three had grown on him. He forgot his brooding and began to look forward to their training (_not that he would ever say it. He is too proud, too much an Uchiha; too much his father's son._) He begins to dread coming back to the compound, to the endless silence that fills his nights. He begins to welcome, to crave, the sound of Sakura yelling at Naruto again ("Why the heck would you do that you dumb Naruto!") Naruto yelling at Kakashi, ("You're late!") and the mellow tone of voice that Kakashi spoke in ("I was helping an old lady cross the street.")

He begins to miss them when they're apart, to wonder what they're doing while he eats alone (ever the king in his empty mansion.) He remembers a time when the other Uchiha children would play with him (friends?) and he has to check himself before he loses track of his destiny. (_you are an Uchiha. You need no friends and no allies. The sole purpose of your existence is to destroy that man._) He resumes his cold treatment of all of them, but revels inside at the sound of voices and laughter and joy (the sounds of life.)

He hates the silence, he decides.


End file.
